Guide Through Entrepreneurship

> Blacktieknight
> How to be a Modern Day Superhero
> BlackTieKnight Blog

The Hacker's Guide to Investors. April 2007 (This essay is derived from a keynote talk at the 2007 ASES Summit at Stanford.)

The world of investors is a foreign one to most hackers—partly because investors are so unlike hackers, and partly because they tend to operate in secret. I've been dealing with this world for many years, both as a founder and an investor, and I still don't fully understand it. In this essay I'm going to list some of the more surprising things I've learned about investors. Some I only learned in the past year. Teaching hackers how to deal with investors is probably the second most important thing we do at Y Combinator.

Since there are hundreds of new apps coming on the market every year, we figured it was time for an update. This year we came up with more than 270 additional apps. Some are completely new since last year, others might have been overlooked, and still others made significant improvements that gained them a spot on the list. Accounting, Billing, Invoicing, Estimating & Contracts LiteAccounting - Invoice and track payment from your customers without a bunch of extra, useless features.

Each co-founder or employee executes several job descriptions jumbled together, and it seems a simple solution to just hire a new person and delegate away responsibilities, never to be worried about again. This becomes especially relevant post-funding, because it suddenly becomes plausible to hire with the intended result of getting more done faster.
Patents, Trademarks, Licenses: Best Way to Protect Your Brilliant Ideas. Everyone has ideas.

What matters is whether you turn those ideas into action. That... and whether you protect the ideas you put into action. Here's another in my series where I choose a topic, pick someone smarter than me, and we discuss.
Traits of a Truly Entrepreneurial Mindset. I've spent most of my life working with small-business owners.

And what I've learned is that most small-business owners don't truly understand how to think like an entrepreneur. And, because of that, the vast majority of small businesses--and the people who create them--remain today what they were when they were started: jobs for the people who created them. They aren't entrepreneurs at all, but are instead what I call "technicians suffering from an entrepreneurial seizure.
" Seventy percent of all small businesses are sole proprietorships, meaning that their owners are self-employed. They have created a job for themselves, but have not learned how to create a business, meaning they could step away and still have the thing run.

The Hacker's Guide to Investors. 3 Tradeoffs to Consider Before Partnering. Omar H. Téllez is founder/CEO of SCHEDit, a "hyper-social" events calendar that recently partnered with Boston.com to launch My Events. Called "Twitter for events" by Mashable, SCHEDit helps users connect with the right people, the right places at the right time. As entrepreneurs, we typically face more questions than answers. Then, we reach that first moment of glory: We confirm that a) our product does indeed work, and b) there is a demand for it. Surely, one of the most pressing questions is determining the optimal market path, and specifically, whether partnering with an established distribution platform, portal or brand can add transformative value to your company.

Entrepreneurs don't think enough about this issue, but rather, can sometimes be consumed by the moment of glory. Giving consideration to partnership is essential for success. 1. Will the increased awareness and visibility that partners can provide offset the costs or foregone revenue of the relationship?
How to Start a Startup. March 2005 (This essay is derived from a talk at the Harvard Computer Society.)

How to Start Your Business on the Cheap. If you need help turning your brilliant idea for a product or service into a functioning business--and get that help for a pittance--look to the Internet.

With more than two billion people online, a lot of talent is out there, and many smart and artistic people are willing to help you make your vision into a reality, often at a surprisingly low cost. But how do you effectively communicate your needs to the hive mind and realize your dream? That's where crowdsourcing websites come in. Most of these virtual marketplaces are purpose-built for funding ideas or creating graphic designs. Others are full of eager Internet users willing to do all sorts of creative and crazy things for as little as $5.
Theyrule.

Browne, John Miley, Susannah Snider and Michael Stratford From Oprah Winfrey to Steve Jobs to J.K. Rowling, entrepreneurial success stories are the stuff from which American dreams are made. Much like these famous names, the six self-made millionaires we're profiling have one thing in common: Thanks to hard work, determination and sound advice from mentors, friends and family, they've been able to build thriving businesses from the ground up.
Ecommerce Software and Shopping Cart Software by CoreCommerce.

Writing a Business Plan

As the resident Apple and Adobe expert, he works closely with Universal Mind’s clients to develop rich user experiences that leverage many of today’s exciting new development platforms. Follow David on Twitter @mindmillmedia. Many companies have mobile apps at the top of their to-do lists, but while churning out a quick app is fairly straightforward, developing a strategic application or digital “solution” is considerably more complex. Smart planning is essential. Here are 10 things to consider before developing your app. 1. When developing a digital solution strategy, first examine your organization’s goals for the program.

Idea Evaluation

Pitching a Business Idea. Never Get a Real Job. Unemployment and underemployment have become global epidemics.

The following is a rare guest post, this time coming from Tommy Walker. Tommy Walker is an Online Marketing Strategist and host of “Inside the Mind” a fresh and entertaining video show about Internet Marketing Strategy. Be honest. How often do you sabotage yourself? On any given day, you have tasks you’d like to finish because you know they’d positively impact your business, and tasks you actually do. You trick yourself into thinking that keeping up with industry news, and reading the latest “10 tips to ______” post is “working”. You know better, but some part of you believes that simply reading the article will help you move forward.

That having a deep understanding of all things online marketing will better position you when the time is right.